Fiona Thunderpaws

Perhaps Courtier? Castiglione gave me the impression they were mostly the same thing. But how would that job add look?

Wanted: Articulate and intelligent persons sought for to fulfill Courtier positions. Duties include engaging otherwise uninterested citizens in lengthy discussions about literature, art, music, and philosophy, while simultaneously spreading seeds of doubt concerning deep seated prejudices. Impressive neck ruffs and many layered petticoats to be provided by employer.

I just got an email from Prof. Lesser informing me he has "been authorized to offer [me] admission to the doctoral program"!! Apparently the official email from the English department will be coming tomorrow. I am definitely planning to accept, and so stoked to meet you all for real in the Fall!!!
 
I'm floating.

I got in off the waitlist today!!! Can't believe it!

Yes, I was sitting next to you at lunch!  So your apartment search was successful?  Details!
 
I would like to add:  well done, UT Austin.  Well done.

Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too.

D&B--yeah, I walked around for a few days until I found my landlady. I was staying with my sweet old grad students who also lived in Hyde Park so it was pretty easy to get out and just wander.
 
As for whoever was considering getting a car because they're a terrible biker, it's really easy to bus it pretty much everywhere if you're on a north/south route!
 
And while rent is going up in Austin, whoever said entertainment is cheap is absolutely right. You can easily go out to places and drop tons of money to have fun, but there are so many cheap things to do, it's ridiculous.
 
+1 for weather. Snow sucks. I don't miss it at all.

it's also because the Grumpy Cat herself is gonna be in town for sxsw, so a lot of people are heading to austin and clogging the highways just to see the celebrity!

It's because of sxsw mostly. That stuff started this week, and goes through all of next week and then part of the week after. All the hotel prices are crazy until it's over. Not that that's particularly helpful for anyone waiting to decide or anything.

Hi all!
 
Sorry, I was talking to a few of you then got sick and slammed with work, and forgot what was going on. But now it's three days until spring break and I seem to have hit a wall with this midterm paper so onto TGC it is!
 
As a current UT student and TA, I don't know anyone who spends 20 hours a week on their TA appointment consistently. I've only done that when I've been slammed with grading I would say under 10 is pretty consistent (3 hours for lecture, 2 for teaching, 3 for office hours very few students attend anyway). I tend to use lecture and office hours to formulate lesson plans. 
 
When is the visit weekend? I want to see you all attending at some point!

Oh, by all means! In my totally non-biased and objective opinion, UT is the best program in the country. I am eager to spread the gospel. Congratulations on getting it!
 
 

Oh, by all means! In my totally non-biased and objective opinion, UT is the best program in the country. I am eager to spread the gospel. Congratulations on getting it!
 
 

Yeh. If I get in we'll party. Party hard. Otherwise, fuck that place.

You guys!!  I just got in to Penn State!!! 6 years of full funding!!
 
AAAAAHHHHH!!!

I blame those violent TV shows and video games for this disrespectful behavior. Kids these days...

AUSTIN PEOPLE.
 
If you got in, you should come here. Unless you hate fun. We have mastered the art of kick-ass scholarship and having the best time ever. I am Thunderpaws and I will be at recruitment weekend. If you can guess who I am, you will do a shot with me. Unless you don't want to, then high-fives are acceptable.
 
 
Funding at UT is mostly from teaching. Here's the thing about teaching though. We just turned down a totally awesome and perfect job applicant because he had no teaching record. Teaching is a vital part of getting a job these days, and UT makes sure you can do it well. But it doesn't do this at the expense of your research. As a first year without an MA, you TA which is 8-13 hour committement a week. Three hours of lecture, two of your teaching sections, 3 hours of office hours (which almost no one comes to so it's essentially work time for you). Somestimes you have meeting with your TA crowd, sometimes you have grading.
 
When you become an AI (which comes with a raise) you aren't taking 3 courses as you are the first two years, so while you're responsible for your own class, you're also not dying under lots of ass-in-chair class time.
 
The teaching load here is instructive, not suffocating, and I find the expirence very valuable. Fellowships are offered for dissertating students.

Oh, by all means! In my totally non-biased and objective opinion, UT is the best program in the country. I am eager to spread the gospel. Congratulations on getting it!
 
 

Oh, by all means! In my totally non-biased and objective opinion, UT is the best program in the country. I am eager to spread the gospel. Congratulations on getting it!
 
 

Love hearing from you, fiona thunderpaws. Your triumph over the UT wait list is easily my favorite moment from last year (and is especially heartening to me this year) and I'm glad to see you so happy with your program.

Texas people!!!!
 
If you're waiting to hear back for waitlist stuff, the waitlist emails went out approximately a week after the acceptances last year. I don't know when the rejections went out in relations to acceptances or waitlist because after the UT acceptances went up I drunk myself into a sodden, sad stupor and only returned to TGF when I was waitlisted.
 
I would say almost half of the incoming class as far as Lit went off in off the waitlist. The UT waitlist is a good waitlist to be on, but don't expect them to tell you anything while you're waiting. I know everything about that goddamn waitlist.

Texas people!!!!
 
If you're waiting to hear back for waitlist stuff, the waitlist emails went out approximately a week after the acceptances last year. I don't know when the rejections went out in relations to acceptances or waitlist because after the UT acceptances went up I drunk myself into a sodden, sad stupor and only returned to TGF when I was waitlisted.
 
I would say almost half of the incoming class as far as Lit went off in off the waitlist. The UT waitlist is a good waitlist to be on, but don't expect them to tell you anything while you're waiting. I know everything about that goddamn waitlist.

Hands in the air for dreams coming true off the waitlist! Congrats!

The thought of submiting applications still gives me the chills...

I was procrastinating writing final papers and saw this thread and thought I'd chime in. After you submit applications, I really, really, recommend making sure that your application fee went through. Check your debit account, credit card recipt, whatever. Despite my crazy, crazy triple checking all of my materials, I somehow missed the application fee part of an application (since you, know, I was finishing like 2 a day every day for a week) and the school couldn't process my application because I realized it too late to do anything about it. It was really stupid, and I don't want anyone who repeat that horrible mistake. DON'T BE ME.

Aside that, I recommend a lot of alcohol.

Good luck everyone!

The thought of submiting applications still gives me the chills...

I was procrastinating writing final papers and saw this thread and thought I'd chime in. After you submit applications, I really, really, recommend making sure that your application fee went through. Check your debit account, credit card recipt, whatever. Despite my crazy, crazy triple checking all of my materials, I somehow missed the application fee part of an application (since you, know, I was finishing like 2 a day every day for a week) and the school couldn't process my application because I realized it too late to do anything about it. It was really stupid, and I don't want anyone who repeat that horrible mistake. DON'T BE ME.

Aside that, I recommend a lot of alcohol.

Good luck everyone!

I GOT INTO UTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only one person has the talent to truly create something special, and I am a Lesser man than he.